I am writing in reply to a letter in a recent paper. Throughout this letter, the writer accuses President Biden of various misdeeds and calls him incompetent. In a previous letter, he has called the president a “nasty, spiteful, delusional, lying plagiarist.” 

While he calls himself an independent thinker, the only criticism he offers about Trump is that he has contributed to the chaos in the country. 

Let’s look at some of his specific accusations and see how they apply to both Trump and Biden. 

He states that President Biden has weaponized the justice system to eliminate an opponent and bolster his family coffers. While this is a line used by Mr. Trump, the reality is that despite its investigations, Congress cannot show that the President has coordinated with the Justice Department to eliminate Mr. Trump as an opponent. Mr. Trump, however, did try to manipulate the Justice Department to the extent that several top officials threatened to resign. 

The President’s son has used his father’s position for personal gain; however, Mr. Trump himself, when President, used his position and violated the spirit of, if not the emoluments law itself, through the use of his hotels for trips, meetings, golf etc. 

The writer seems concerned that there were guards at the State of the Union address, comparing it to the Kremlin. He had also stated this in his previous letter. Perhaps he has forgotten that it was Mr. Trump who had to be talked out of having a Russian-style parade showcasing heavy military equipment that the Washington streets couldn’t withstand. 

He also calls Trump a successful businessman. It’s true that Trump is rich, but has also had five bankruptcies, a questionable university and is now on trial for fraud.

He calls Biden incompetent, but extremely important legislation has been passed during his term: the Chips Act and Infrastructure funds for example. 

Finally and most important, we should all remember that it was Mr. Trump who encouraged and then sat back and watched as his supporters stormed the capital causing damage, and injuring police even contributing to some deaths. 

Not only that: he and his inner circle tried to overthrow the election with a scam to replace the official electors with groups of unelected substitutes. 

By these actions he has caused incalculable damage to our system of government. Even now, he is calling for a government shutdown, which would have a disastrous impact on so many Americans. 

One could agree with the writer when he says that “Those who support him [Biden] without thinking for themselves are fools.” However, I believe that should apply to supporters of Mr. Trump also.

President Biden is certainly not perfect, but look at the alternative.

Ed McNulty lives in Beach Lake, PA.